For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Sedentary Wordsmith
Summary: L knows better than to ask for whom the bell tolls. And six years later, Light still can't get the sound of bells out of his head. Two-shot. Short. Not quite an ep. 25 fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** L knows better than to ask for whom the bell tolls. And six years later, Light still can't get the sound of bells out of his head.

This is actually my first Death Note fic, but I hesitated to post it for a while because I'm not as good at drama/angst as I am at humor. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading. And don't forget, this is a two-shot. Look for the second and last chapter soon.

This is for everyone who thinks that the phrase "…for whom the bell tolls" comes from a poem. It doesn't!

**For Whom the Bell Tolls**

It was in every drop of rain that fell and hit his upturned face, or impacted with the roof. It was every roll of thunder that vibrated through his chest. It hummed through the very air and into his core.

He barely noticed Light approaching him through the sound of the bells. He favored him with one sidelong look before returning to the grey sky.

"I said, what are you doing out here in a place like this during such a storm?"

He must have thought about it a bit too long, because Light spoke again. "Ryuuzaki?"

This time he remembered to speak. "Nothing. It's just…the bells…"

"Bells?"

"Yes. The conditions are favorable today, so you can't help but hear them." His dull eyes were scanning the hazy horizon, constantly searching for the source. "It's a church. A wedding, maybe? Or…"

"What nonsense are you saying, Ryuuzaki?"

He gave him another slow, sidelong look. _You didn't let me finish, Light…_

"We should go inside before you catch a cold." No response appeared forthcoming to his specious concern. Light suddenly became aware that L was mumbling something under his breath. It sounded like English, but the words were too soft for him to be sure. "What's that, Ryuuzaki?"

There was another long pause, and Light was almost convinced that L either hadn't heard him or was just ignoring him, when the older detective suddenly met his eyes with a surprisingly keen glance.

"Do you like poetry, Light?" The younger was a bit taken aback, but did not have a chance to answer as the other continued. "Well, it doesn't matter either way. It's not poetry."

Light felt his irritation flare at the continued nonsensical words of the normally brilliant man, but quickly smothered it. "What are you talking about?" he asked calmly.

"It's an essay, actually," he continued, his eyes having returned to searching the skyline. "'Meditation XVII' by John Donne. He said, 'Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.' Do you think that's true, Light-kun?"

Light wasn't quite sure how to answer. He didn't know how to deal with this rather _off_ side of L. Was this some sort of test? Normally, he wouldn't put it past the clever detective, but…today, right now, he didn't think so. Maybe it was something in the _normally_ reflective black eyes, or just the way he seemed to be saying everything that came across his mind. "I suppose it is."

"What do you think he meant by that?"

Light's lips set in a thin line. "I'm not sure. I would have to read the rest of it."

"Yes, that's right. He says what it means right there in it, after all."

A brilliant blue streak of lightning split the grey clouds and struck the top of a building only a kilometer off, drawing both men's attention.

"We should go inside now, Ryuuzaki. The storm is only getting worse."

"You know, it was in that same essay that Donne said, 'No man is an island, entire of itself.' All of our actions affect those we know, even the things we do solely for ourselves."

Light's eyes narrowed. "Do you have a point, L?"

He dragged his deep black eyes up to again meet the amber ones staring hard at him. "…No. You're right, Light-kun. We should go in now."

Every drop of rain that hit his face or impacted the roof was the sound of the tinkling of small silver bells. Every roll of thunder was the deep clang of a bell in its tower. And in the very air was the echo of every church bell ever solemnly rung at someone's passing.

But it was alright. The bells didn't bother him much, because he knew they wouldn't ring for much longer anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

I find it interesting that L is the only one Light ever hallucinated seeing after he killed him…Twice, at that.

Interesting.

**For Whom the Bell Tolls**

Six years later, Light couldn't get the sound of bells out of his head.

He remembered clearly the first time he heard them. It was two days after L's death, and he was working on the headquarters' computer hard drive to restore the files Watari had deleted before dying.

The members of the investigation team seemed to be just a little less motivated than usual, still recovering from the sudden deaths of L and his assistant, and the mysterious disappearance of the shinigami Rem.

Matsuda sat on the sofa on the other side of the room, watching the news on TV—trying to get his mind off of things there at HQ, Light deduced, since he didn't appear to actually be _watching_ it, but rather staring through it. On the screen was a reporter standing in front of a church where a funeral was being held.

It must have been someone important, Light thought, to get a special report in a time when so many were dying, but later, he couldn't remember whom. In the background, warring for dominance with the reporter's voice, the tower bells pealed solemnly.

The slow gong filled his head and brought to mind again the words he had already labeled as meaningless and discarded. He knew what L had been about to say, now. _"A wedding, maybe? Or…a funeral."_

Light blinked, snapping back into the present to realize he had been lost in thought for quite a while—several minutes, at least. The reporter on TV had changed to someone else, leaving the bells behind.

Light leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again and looked to the vacant chair at his left hand, he wasn't too surprised to see L sitting there. Staring at the computer in front of him, sitting hunched over his knees, just like always. He turned to Light with a small smile and his hair covering his eyes.

He said something that Light couldn't quite catch—couldn't hear at all—and still with that small smile on his face, and why was his hair covering his eyes? His hair never covered his eyes. Without being able to see his eyes, Light couldn't tell what L was saying.

Was it, perhaps, "Would you like some cake, Light-kun?" Or maybe it was actually "It tolls for _thee_." Light couldn't be sure when he couldn't see his eyes, and that cursed little smile could quite easily go either way.

The next time he looked, L was gone, and the chair was empty again.

From that time, Light couldn't stop hearing the sound of bells. If it had been anyone else, he would have simply labeled it as delusional paranoia and moved on. But he knew this was not the case. He was still a genius—still directing the NPA's suspicions away from himself and Misa, still leading the entire world's police force under the guise of L, still continuing to judge criminals and remove obstacles from the way of creating his new world and being the god of it.

Only now he was merely acutely aware of every bell he heard. And there were many of them. Above every door of every shop, tinkling lightly as someone entered. On every channel on TV. In every clock tower, announcing every hour.

One time only did he doubt the reality of the bells (_"It's a church. A wedding, maybe? Or…"_)—when nobody else seemed to hear them. They all just kept walking along the street, as if completely oblivious to the fact that the bells were tolling. He was finally forced to demand of a complete stranger whether they heard the bells or not.

The man looked rather nervous at being asked such a question. "Y—yes, of course! They're…very pretty?"

Light was careful to never again mention the bells to anyone, even if it seemed he was the only one to hear them.

Even now, as he lay in the abandoned warehouse by the docks, he could still hear the solemn toll of a church bell, reverberating in the air around him, ringing to announce the passing of another human soul. Only this time, he knew quite certainly that there was no church anywhere within hearing distance. And there was no one to ask if they heard it, either.

Well, except for L. L stood only feet away from him, looking down at his bloodied and mangled form impassively. Light had a feeling L would not answer, even if he did ask him about the bells. In fact, Light had a sneaking suspicion that L was the one causing the bells to toll in the first place.

"Yagami-kun. Do you want to know a secret?"

L had taken one hand out his pocket and had his thumb pressed against his lip. His hair was not covering his eyes this time, but Light still couldn't tell what he was thinking. The round black eyes were just as blank as ever, if not a bit wider.

Light let his head fall back on the step underneath it, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed softly, the words rushing past his lips in a whisper. "Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls…it tolls for thee…" He wondered why he never found the time to read the rest of the essay.

L came to stand beside him, then crouched down by his head, still with his thumb over his lips. "'_The bell doth toll for him who thinks it doth._'"

Light pondered briefly if this was how L had died. With the horrible sound of ringing bells in his head. L's eyes betrayed nothing.

The bells gave one last slow, solemn toll, then ceased.

------------

End. Hope you enjoyed.

Deleted scene! (I really wanted to fit this in somewhere, but I couldn't find the right place for it…)

Setting: Temporary investigation headquarters, L.A., America. A few days before Light's death.

Matsuda: (is flipping through TV channels.)

TV: _(from "The Matrix.") _Do you hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability. That is the sound of your death. Goodbye, Mr. Anderson.

Light: TURN THAT #$& TV OFF, MATSUDA!

Matsuda: HAILIGHT-KUNGOMENNASAI!

-

Haha…yeah...Anyway. Thanks again for reading!


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